Thursday, January 12, 2012

First thoughts on the 6th Edition Rumors

I've read through the supposed leaked 6th edition rule book and like what I've read. Just to get this out of the way, I'm assuming that the new rules are legit (or a rough version of whats coming down the pipe). The game hopefully will be more complex with the advent of a new rule system. As always, when I read the rules I had changes to the Eldar foremost in mind. I'm thinking that even without a new codex, these rule changes will breath new life into the Eldar. The following are positive changes I think will happen to the pre-existing Eldar codex in the brave new world of 6th edition.

Eldar tanks get a boost:

-Movement is 8"/16"/24" with star engines adding another 12" movement on flat out moves.
-Eldar tanks can fire 4 weapons at combat speed and 2 at cruising
-While they did not get harder to hit with the new EV rules they did not get easier to hit as most other tanks have.
-There is now an advantage to having no fire points in a vehicle (crew immune to template attacks on the vehicle).
-Vectored Engines now ignore the first immobilized result.
-Tank status confers a -1 penalty on the damage chart.
-Disembarking units can engage (assault) from a tank after it has moved at combat speed (effectively adding 2" to an assault range. ie: banshees normally have an assault range of 16"; however it would now be 18" when engaging from a tank.
-Falcon's in particular got a boost with holo-fields and vectored engines (not sure is stones are worth it anymore). They can now move 16" and fire two guns. Also, with the EV rules, when equipped with anti-tank/transport weapons the Falcon is hitting on 2's and 3's. Dragons can disembark and move up to 10" from the hatch then fire a melta salvo.
-Fireprism's are far more accurate with the changes to blast weapons combined with their BS 4.
-Upgrading to an under-slung shuriken cannon is still beneficial when moving at cruising speed.

Vipers:

- EV rating of 4 if moved in turn before. More accurate against tanks with their reduced EV ratings

Banshees:

-16" charge range and 5++ save in close combat.
-can use the shuriken pistol strength (though limited to one attack per model) in HtH.

Fire Dragons:

-Can engage a tank with melta-bombs and then fire their assault guns at a separate target in the subsequent shooting phase.
-Tank Hunter appears to be the only way to obtain a +1 on the vehicle damage chart making the exarch worth taking

Rangers/pathfinders:

-Can choose what model in a unit suffers a wound subject to armour groups.
-Sniper rifles wound on a 2+
-Can give scout status to a Falcon if embarked in one.

Warp-Spiders:

-AP - weapons no longer provide a -2 modifier to armour damage table
-Hit and Run completely changed with the reversal of assaults and shooting phases of the game.

Swooping Hawks:

-Appear to be a strong choice to counter flyers. Hit on a 4+ (dispite EV rating of 6).
-Have flying status so can engage flyers in HtH with haywire grenades.
-Blast template now categorized as a bomb attack made in the movement phase.
-Do not scatter if deep struck outside of enemy 18" bubble.
-Can safely end move in difficult terrain without taking dangerous tests.

Shinning Spears:

-Hit and Run now works differently.
-Appears to have taken a hit with the reduced toughness in HtH

Vibro-Cannon:

-Now classified as a rail type weapon

Exarch's:

-Can direct attacks

Autarchs:

-Reserve game got a lot more interesting with strike forces.

Farseer:

-Wounds suffered from mind war do not allow cover saves.

So these are some ideas of positive changes off the top of my head. Time will tell (though it is drawing short) for the proposed changes to take effect (if they ever do). At any rate I think I'm going to try and get some low point games in with these new rules. A big change to the game that I have not seen discussed yet is the inability of troops to score if embarked in a vehicle. I believe this little gem by itself will serve to dramatically change up the game/meta/msu spam. So let me know what yall think of the proposed new rule set.

I suppose eh, I was getting hung up on the idea that if the tank suffers a hull breach that the upgrade becomes useless. If these rules are true, I think Eldar tanks got an extreme boost. Especially Falcon's! They can move faster, shoot more, and become far more durable (especially with a third layer of protection with Vectored Engines) also, the ability to twin link the weapons with a farseer makes them mean machines. Throw in a squad of Dragons and you have a very potent anti-tank element to your list. Man, I really hope this is the direction 40k is moving towards. I have no problem paying premium points for a vehicle/unit as long as you get what you pay for.

I like your write up and agree with your analysis. I totally think Spirit Stones will be worth it, BIG time. Making Stunned results go down to Shaken is huge when you take into account the "hull breach" rule.

On a side note, ironically, I've picked up lizardmen as well for Fantasy, they are super fun. I love having a bunch of skinks running around shooting things and if you want to take a lot of big things, just take a lot of Chameleon skinks to take out warmachines with poisoned shooting and scout!

Ya, I've come around on the spirit stones. My initial problem was that the stones are used up once the vehicle suffers a hull breech. Man, I really hope there is some merit to these rules.

With respect to the lizards, I've almost my 2k list put together (15 more saurus models). Looking forward to getting some games in. From what I can gather Chameleon's are pure money. I think what I like most about the Lizard men is its a balanced book that seems to hold up well. That and who doesn't want to play an army made up of dionosaurs!

About Me

I've recently picked up warhammer 40k and warhammer fantasy as a hobby after a 14 year hiatus. Currently I have three armies that I am working on. Eldar, Flesh Tearer's and Lizardmen. All three are at various stages of incompletion. The purpose of this blog will be to catalogue my progress as I assemble and paint my various armies. In addition I will discuss army lists, tactics and other aspects to this hobby as I continue to develop my armies.